A Reflection by Our President & CEO
Ever read a book or watch something on TV … and it rocks your world and causes you to ask some big questions?
That JUST happened to me.
I’ve been really interested in spy thrillers lately, so I recently opted for one on Amazon called, “The Man in the High Castle.” (NOTE: As a point of warning, I had the fast forward button nearby because, like so much of TV these days, there were inappropriate scenes and unnecessary language.)
The scene is set in the 1960s; the plot brilliantly lays out what would’ve happened if the Axis Powers (Nazi Germany, Japan, and Italy) had won the war over the United States and Allies in the 1940s.
I can’t even begin to tell you how chilling it was to see a map of our beloved United States ruled by fascists – the West by the Japanese Empire and the East by the Nazis – and the effects of our most cherished freedoms lost.
But here’s something, perhaps even more chilling, that stood out to me: the anti-life attitude pervasive in fascist regimes … and the close relationship with abortion today in America and throughout the world.
In the second episode, one of the main characters, Joe, is making his way across America with a special delivery when he’s stopped by a flat tire. A kind police officer pulls over to help.
While they’re talking, ash begins to fall from the sky.
“What’s that?” Joe asks.
“Ah, that’s the hospital… on Tuesdays they burn cripples, the terminally ill … drag on the state.”
I remember pausing, aghast at what I just heard.
They’re destroying human beings they deem as inconvenient or imperfect. Sound familiar?
Meanwhile, the story’s hero, Juliana, is traveling across the country with films that depict America winning the war and their freedom — a world that exists in a parallel universe — trying to convince people that, if they can envision it, victory is possible.
And there’s a moment where she’s in the midst of challenging some on her side — people who mean well, but aren’t acting strategically, bound to get themselves or key members of the cause hurt, killed, or otherwise removed from making enough of an impact before it’s too late.
“You don’t want to win … you want to die for a cause. You want to be martyrs. Because if you wanted to win (you’d be doing something else).”
My heart dropped … and I have to confess that something came to mind.
There’s a small group of pro-life individuals working to establish a so-called, modern-day “rescue” movement, encouraging people to trespass onto abortion-facility property. Participants purportedly enter with the intent to offer help to mothers inside, but with the end goal of switching to a protest disposition, blocking the doors or passages inside or just outside the abortion facility. For context, this activity is illegal.
The Biden Administration has jumped at the chance to charge anyone who has participated in this tactic under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) — a federal law that prohibits, “threats of force, obstruction, and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services” — alongside a felony conspiracy charge.
First, there was a group of individuals charged last August with blockading a notorious Washington DC abortion facility in 2020 with ropes, bike chains, and locks. Then, a second group was charged last week for a demonstration in March 2021 where they were blocking the door to the abortion facility while singing. (Note that some in the media said that these individuals were arrested for simply singing outside an abortion facility, but that isn’t true: they were on private property and were arrested for blocking the facility door.)
These individuals face a decade in federal prison, and groups supporting these activities are trying to recruit young people to their approach. This is serious.
Yes, it feels outrageously unfair when you consider that some protest groups are allowed to employ vandalism and even violence seemingly without consequence. And the Biden Administration almost never charges a pro-abortion vandal, for example, under the FACE Act, though they could absolutely do so.
And yet, as people of faith who are called to “run as if to win” (1 Cor 9:24), I want to take a moment to challenge us.
Every year, in this country alone, we have hundreds of thousands of mothers going into abortion facilities, enveloped in such crisis that they are considering taking the lives of their children — with an abortion-industry machine looming and ready to capitalize off them.
It reminds me of World War II where those who succeeded in saving the most Jewish people from death were those thinking on a much higher level; those who wanted to outsmart their enemy: psychologically understanding their opposition, moving strategically — most times under the radar — comparing notes and numbers as they went. And those who didn’t were at risk of being knocked out of the cause, one way or another.
For example, it would have been foolish for those on our side to bolt into concentration camps and try to block the doors of the gas chambers. They wouldn’t have saved anyone as they would have been immediately arrested, or worse.
In that spirit … I’m assuming we can agree that our first crisis at an abortion facility is doing what’s proven to save the most preborn children, both in the short- and long term. That’s providing immediate, intentional support to her and her child; connecting with resources through her local pregnancy center and beyond; and helping her stand strong in any situation pressuring her to take the life of her child. We do this on the sidewalk, within our legal limits, and it drains the abortion industry of business — and gradually shuts them down.
We don’t win when an abortion facility closes for an hour or part of a day so pro-life individuals can be arrested and removed from ministry, abortion clients can get rescheduled, and then the facilities open up again and continue the killing.
We win when a baby is actually saved from abortion. We win when a mother’s heart is changed and she leaves with us and not the abortion worker.
In partnership with many of our colleagues in the pro-life movement and God’s grace, we are winning. Every single year, thousands upon thousands of women are choosing life, hundreds of abortion workers are leaving the industry, numerous abortion facilities are closing, all while changing the culture to enable Supreme Court decisions like Dobbs v. Jackson …
… and it’s strategically taking place through heroes like YOU utilizing the power of love, resources, education, and life-affirming assistance … without ever needing to get arrested! (And yes, there’s a way to sidewalk counsel effectively outside ANY type of facility within the confines of your First Amendment rights … please tap us on the shoulder if we can help!)
Again, the numbers prove it: We’ve documented over 21,000 lives saved by Sidewalk Advocates alone!
I deeply appreciate anyone who has a passion to save lives and end abortion; whether I agree with their approach or not, they will always have my heart. But lives, souls, and the future success of our movement is on the line, and we have to be honest that modern-day “rescue” has rarely, if ever, saved any children. Even more concerning, it’s putting what’s working at grave risk, as it frightens mothers already in crisis, emboldens the abortion industry’s claim that pro-lifers are dangerous extremists, and motivates pro-abortion leaders to pass overly broad ordinances that prevent access for effective sidewalk outreach.
Here’s more of the deeper legal and strategic discussion: sidewalkadvocates.org/sidewalkstatement
Friends, numbers don’t lie. If we say YES to peaceful, prayerful outreach at an abortion facility, our name may not be in the headlines anytime soon, but we’ll win a much greater prize: more lives of innocent children, more hearts of hurting women, and more communities gradually proclaiming a culture of life … and as luck would have it, we’ll be free to reach countless more souls in the days, weeks, and months to come. Keep going!
In Christ, for Life,
Lauren Muzyka, Esq.